Santa goes Down Under!

On Labor Day I flew out of Philly International Airport to head to Melbourne, Australia for the week. I’m a management consultant, and two of my biggest clients are in Melbourne and London, England, so I travel to those cities about every other month. By now I’m used to the trip (5 hours to get to Los Angeles, and then another 15 hours to get from LA to Melbourne), but that doesn’t make it an easy trip. The good news is that by the time I land, I’ve got so much pent-up energy that I can’t wait to lace up my running shoes and hit the road, which is exactly what I did. I ran 10 miles in just over an hour, which is a pretty good clip for me.

After a great week of client meetings, we ended a little early on Friday, which was perfect because I wanted to get one more run in before we headed back early Saturday morning. Even better, I had a few hours in between our meeting’s end and our team dinner, so I knew that I could go as far as I wanted. Given that I knew I’d be sitting on a plane for about 20 hours the following day, and that I hadn’t gone for a run over 10 miles since the Wimbledon Common Half Marathon in July, I decided this was an excellent opportunity to get a good, solid long run in. And spread some Christmas cheer in September by wearing the hat. 😉

Running around Victoria Harbour in Melbourne!

I left the hotel and immediately felt really good. 6 miles turned into 8, then 10, and when all was said and done, I had gone 13.5 miles, just over a half marathon. What’s more, I didn’t overheat with the hat on, which is good news. Perhaps it was because it’s currently winter in Australia, which sits in the southern hemisphere of the globe. I hadn’t considered how much running in Melbourne would simulate the wintery conditions I’m expecting to face on November 22 ^nd for the Philly Marathon, so I’m even happier I went for that long run! Ok, gotta run so I can catch my plane for home. Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed!